Importance Varies
by EraseAlpha
Summary: A set of stories about the Strawhats and how they see the world around them.Started as a oneshot,envolved into a series.SXN with hints of other pairings.


Nami sighed quietly as she walked on the silent deck. She groaned as she made her way to the galley.

"Damn insomnia, must sleep, need warm milk." the redhead mumbled. As she came close to the door, she stopped. Was that...

_"Somebody weeping?"_

She gently tapped the knob, unsure of whether to go in or to simply go to bed without her glass of warm, tasty, nutritious milk. And the person weeping inside? It was most certainly one of her dear friends. And to be crying in the galley in the middle of the night they were probably in trouble.

She bit her lip and gently turned the knob, pushing the door forward.

The person inside immediately stood up and stopped weeping.

"Nami-san? May I help you?"

"Sanji..."

She immediately recognized the resident love cook.

"Are you okay?"

He turned on the light. Nami flinched at the sudden clarity.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You...You were crying..."

She gulped as she saw him turn paler.

"I was thinking..."

He sat on a chair near the kitchen counter. Nami sat on the counter itself.

"Just thinking about my life."

"Still, doesn't really explain why you were weeping like a little girl. There's gotta be a specific reason."

"...I can't get a girlfriend..."

Nami laughed loudly.

"Well, duh. They get scared with your attitude."

"Do you know why I act that way?"

"Because you're a moron?"

He smiled an half mad smile.

"Good guess, but no. I act that way because it's all I can do."

"Why?"

"Because, once someone sees what I am hiding, they tend to stop talking to me..."

"What you're hiding..."

She gasped loudly.

"Are you a woman?"

He stared at her wide-eyed.

"Something tells me all those drama books you read are starting to affect your head..."

"Sorry. So you're not a woman?"

"Last time I checked, no."

"Right. So,what is your big secret?"

"I won't tell you. You'll freak out like everyone else..."

"I won't, I swear."

"That's what they all said."

"C'mon...Sanji..."

She stared at him for a while. And then it hit her. Slowly she extended her arm and gently brushed the hair in front of his left eye. He grabbed her wrist.

"Don't do that."

"Uh, Sanji, you're kinda hurting me."

He quickly let go as his expression turned from angry to sorrowful.

"Nami, sorry, I..."

"It doesn't matter. Please, just let me see your eye..."

He bit his lip. Carefully, he brushed his bangs to the side. Nami had to contain a terrified gasp.

Burn marks and scratch scars overlapped, around an eyeless orbit, with dangling scraps of what was once eyelids hanging .

"How...Why..."

He let the bangs fall back.

"When I was young...Before I even started to even think about being a cook...I lived a happy life with my mother...Relatively happy. My father died at some stupid war,and we were alone. Mom worked as a waitress at a local café...But the money wasn't enough...And the debt collectors realized she couldn't pay. So they killed her. And I was alone, living on the streets. First some bastard threw a pan full of boiling water at me when I went to his bar to beg for something. And then, the rats on the alley, smelled the cooked flesh...And..."

He dropped his head, staring at his lap.

A soft whisper brought him back to reality.

"Sanji-kun..."

"I'm sorry if my story upset you. But you were the one who wanted to hear it..."

"It's not that, it's...Well, I am upset...But...I just don't understand...Girls left you because you were an orphan who got boiling water to his face and was attacked by rats? That's despicable!"

"Yeah, usually they didn't hear the story...It's just that nobody wants a disfigured boyfriend. A mutilated husband..."

"Sanji...Was there any girl you truly loved that went away?"

"...In my whole life I on!y truly loved one girl..."

"And did she go away?"

"So far no..."

Nami stared at him unbelieving.

"And she's the only one who really felt sorry for me and angry at the way I was treated."

She gulped dryly and smiled slightly.

"So,how does that girl look like?"

"Perfect. She's got a perfect body and a beautiful face. She also has a keen sense of style. But, above all, she has the most beautiful, gorgeous, amazing and cute brown eyes I have ever seen on my entire life...She's perfect."

He sighed.

" But she'll never be mine..."

Nami frowned, deeply upset.

"Why?"

"Because the perfect girl needs the perfect boyfriend and I'm just a mutilated cook with a bad temper."

He stood up and began to walk towards the door. Suddenly, he was pulled to the ground. Nami had slid from the counter to the ground and pulled him.

"Sit."

He immediately obeyed her. Nami glared at him.

"Stop it! Stop assuming you're not good enough. Stop thinking that all your life depends on how good looking you are."

Sanji gulped. The redhead was at the verge of tears.

"Nami..."

"Not everyone cares about looks! Personally,I don't give a shit! You could look like you were run over by a truck and I wouldn't care, I would still love you!"

_"Did she just say..."_

She took a deep breath and looked at him.

"Look, Sanji-kun...From my point of view, the perfect girl is nowhere near this ship...And the perfect guy...Is just sitting in front of me, looking like an idiot...I love you...And those scars just make me want to be in your arms even more...Just to...Be there for you...Because..."

She started mumbling quietly. For a while, neither of them moved. And then, Nami just threw herself at Sanji, sobbing hysterically Sanji caught her and embraced her, burying his nose on her hair and rubbing her back. They sat there for a while, hardly moving.

Nami shivered and looked at Sanji.

"...Sweetie?"

"Yes?"

"Could you get me some warm milk?"

-+-

Wow. Done entirely on a PDA at 1:30-3:45 AM.

I'm thinking about making this a series of short stories focusing in how different people see certain things in different ways. But I'm not sure. Should I?


End file.
